UK Firm Works with Univ of Kurdistan Hewler

Decisive Operations, a British company that specialises in organisational improvement through leadership development, is partnering with the University of Kurdistan Hewler, UKH, to bring an important tourism workshop to Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

UKH is a progressive institution with close links to the Kurdistan Regional Government, KRG. Charged with enriching the pool of leaders and managers in Kurdistan, UKH has chosen Decisive Operations to be its associate in this tourism venture which will occur at the end of 2013.

The timing of the strategic think-tank is important, as Erbil has been appointed the 2014 Tourism Capital by the Arab Council of Tourism. The task facing the Tourism organisers for 2014 are significant and include the presentation of 40 different activities throughout the year, the creation of a number of new theatres to support an international film festival, widespread rejuvenation of existing tourist resorts, the renovation of the historic Citadel district and an additional $1billion of hotels to cater for the 3 million (+) tourists expected to visit the capital city.

Principal speaker at the conference will be Professor Graham Miller, the Head of the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the University of Surrey. The aim of the short conference is to help Erbil to exceed tourists’ expectations in 2014 and beyond, and in so doing to support Kurdistan’s international standing. Professor Miller is recognised globally for his work in this area and, along with his team, is expected to add further depth and focus to the KRG’s existing plans for 2014.

The workshop is significant also as it represents the inaugural event for UKH in developing an Enterprise Centre, jointly with Decisive Operations, one of the aims of which is to help the KRG to lead Kurdistan into the future. The work also demonstrates the United Kingdom’s on-going commitment to Iraq and is a good example of Great British expertise being applied in concert with local partners to create powerful results.